Content uploaded by Claudia Mertens
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Claudia Mertens on Nov 12, 2015
Content may be subject to copyright.
A preview of the PDF is not available
Human-Cat Interactions in the Home Setting
Abstract and Figures
Unmanipulated human-cat interactions in established relationships and in the common but very complex home setting are described and analyzed quantitatively. Fifty-one cat-owning Swiss families were visited in their homes. In a total of 504 hours of observation, the interspecific interactions of 162 persons and 72 cats were recorded. Quantitatively, the interactive behavior of both partners in a human-cat dyad increases with increasing duration of human presence at home: this independent variable is largest in adult women and smallest in adult men, while children and juveniles show intermediate values. Therefore, adult women are generally predestined to be the main human partner in human-cat relationships. Even so, when based on mean duration of human presence, effects of human sex and age can still be found for some human and cat behavior. Judged by the amount and reciprocity of interactions, woman-cat dyads have the best and juvenile-cat dyads the worst relationships. Cat behavior toward individual family members not only depends upon characteristics of the human (availability, sex, and age) but also upon characteristics of the whole family, such as family size and number of cats living in the household (negative correlation for both factors). Cat housing condition (indoor versus outdoor) appears to be unimportant in the human-cat relationship, although it affects the duration of a cat's presence at home. The results show the complexity of human-cat relationships in the privacy of the home. The list of factors shown to influence such relationships was increased by several variables. Thus, observation of unmanipulated interspecific interactions was useful despite problems inherent to most field studies.
Figures - uploaded by Claudia Mertens
Author content
All figure content in this area was uploaded by Claudia Mertens
Content may be subject to copyright.
... Turner (1991) found that interactions initiated by the cat tend to be longer than those initiated by the owner, particularly when the owner is very active in starting the interactions. In families with children, Mertens (1991) found that, while children tend to approach the family cat more than their parents do, the cat itself prefers to interact with the adults. She found the cat-human relationship to be most intense (in terms of quantity of interactions that occur) when the human partner is female. ...
... She found the cat-human relationship to be most intense (in terms of quantity of interactions that occur) when the human partner is female. This is probably because it is often a female member of the household who feeds the cat The size of the family is also of importance to their relationship with their cat Mertens (1991) found that in small families social play towards individual family members lasted longer and the frequency of head or flank rubbing was higher. This suggests that additional family members represent some competition for the love of -1.13the cat This competition factor may also work in reverse, where more than one cat is kept in a household. ...
... In this situation the question arises whether cats use cat partners as substitutes for humans or humans as substitutes for conspecific partners. Hediger (cited in Mertens (1991)) suggests that a cat's socialisation with conspecifics and with humans follow independent paths. Feaver et al's (1986) separate dimensions for "equable with cats" and "sociable with people" tend to confirm this. ...
p>This study assessed the existence and nature of sociality in three colonies of neutered domestic cats. All three colonies exhibited a social structure whereby cats recognised individuals, or at least individual status, and reacted accordingly. In two colonies the overall flow of interactions was most clearly represented by the flow of head rubbing, and in the third group by the flow of aggression. Interaction within each group was higher between dyads that were present together less often. Head rubbing may reinforce social structure, flowing from subordinate towards more dominant individuals, particularly when cats return to their communal core area. Cluster analysis, of the probabilities that two behaviour patterns were performed by one individual within a single interaction, was used to produce an objective method for categorising behaviour. Many patterns clustered similarly in all three colonies, particularly with respect to two clusters - these were termed Affiliative and Approach /Sit categories. Analysis of the sequencing of behaviour patterns between cats during interactions revealed the importance of the tail-raised posture in cat communication. Its close association with head rubbing suggests it may be an appeasement display indicating a subordinate cat's intention to rub on a more dominant individual. The use of the tail raised posture and head rubbing by cats towards a familiar human was investigated experimentally. Contact from the human increased the tail- raised response and head rubbing on the person and on an inanimate object. The presence of more than one cat created competition between the cats for attention. The results are discussed in relation to the possible effects of neutering on heritable aspects of cat behaviour and the welfare aspects of neutering,</p
... It is acknowledged that pet cats are not well adapted to living in close proximity to each other [20]. Furthermore, Mertens (1991) work has shown that singly kept pet cats had more playtime and other interaction with their owners as compared to group-living pet cats [21]. Podberscek et al. (1991) also reported that pet cats tend to play with their owners or alone rather than with other cats [22]. ...
... It is acknowledged that pet cats are not well adapted to living in close proximity to each other [20]. Furthermore, Mertens (1991) work has shown that singly kept pet cats had more playtime and other interaction with their owners as compared to group-living pet cats [21]. Podberscek et al. (1991) also reported that pet cats tend to play with their owners or alone rather than with other cats [22]. ...
A cross-sectional survey questionnaire was developed in-house to investigate pet cat owners’ beliefs and attitudes related to the fundamental care of their pet cats. The questionnaire consisted of questions which were grouped into the following sections: (i) owners’ socio-demographics; (ii) cat(s) body weight and body condition monitoring; (iii) owners’ attitudes to cats’ dietary preferences, needs and satisfaction, (iv) owners’ perceptions of their cats’ physical exercise needs and satisfaction. The sample size of 376 was estimated to be required to represent the population of the given geographical location (Belfast, NI, UK). Hard copies of the questionnaires were distributed in January and February 2019 and in total 402 completed questionnaires were collected; questionnaires which included >20% of missing or incomprehensible responses were excluded from the database, resulting in 398 questionnaires being included in the final database. The study identified a number of socio-demographic factors associated with owners’ beliefs and attitudes that directly affect care provided to pet cats, e.g., the owner’s occupation has been identified as a factor associated with owner perception of certain cats’ behaviours, e.g., a cat brushing against the owner as food requests by their animal (Chi-Square 7.711 (df1), exact p = 0.006). Furthermore, most female respondents, aged 26–67 years and in an occupation not related to animals, reported selecting cat food based on their animal preferences (Chi-Square 10.332 (df1), exact p = 0.003). In contrast, female owners in animal and veterinary occupations were significantly more likely as compared to other respondents (Chi-Square 15.228 (df1), exact p < 0.001), to select cat food based on its perceived health benefit to the cat. Analysis of the respondents’ opinions of cats’ abilities to self-regulate physical activity showed that owners age was the main differentiating determinant, i.e., cat owners over 25 years old were significantly more likely than younger adults to believe that pet cats can regulate their own physical activity to keep healthy (Chi-Square 6.313 (df1), exact p = 0.025). Furthermore, respondents’ opinions of their cat’s ability to self-regulate feed intake were mainly associated with owner’s education level (Chi-Square 6.367 (df1), exact p = 0.036). The study results indicated that the attitude and beliefs behind the fundamental care practices provided to pet cats depends on particular demographic factors, especially owners’ education and occupation.
... Where a guardian is home more often, more human-cat interactions have the opportunity to take place ( Mertens, 1991 ). Such interactions include play, as in the current study. ...
... It is possible that womancat dyad behavior differs compared to man-or non-binary-cat dyad behavior. Previous research has indicated that woman-cat dyads show greater reciprocity of interactions compared to malecat dyads ( Mertens, 1991 ). Univariate analysis within our study indicated that non-binary-cat dyad participants reported significantly longer play times than male-cat or female-cat dyad participants. ...
Play is a common behavior, often exhibited within human-cat dyads. Play is a behavior that may have numerous benefits to both cat and human, including within the realms of social cooperation and inter-species communication. However, little is known about human-cat play and foundational information is needed. The current study aimed to investigate total daily play durations, play session lengths and the factors associated with play times in human-cat dyads.
An online survey was developed using demographic information, questions related to play times, resources available to the cat, ‘games’ played with the cat, free text sections and the following validated measures: cat quality of life (QOL), the cat owner relationship scale (CORS) and the human adult playfulness trait scale (APTS). Regression analysis was conducted using SPSS 26.
Responses were completed by 1.591 cat guardians from 55 countries. Total daily play times and play session lengths were both significantly higher in human-cat dyads where the cat was younger in age, the guardian reported playing a larger diversity of ‘games’ with the cat and the guardian reported experiencing a closer relationship with their cat. Some guardians reported avoiding play during times when they were too busy or due to fears over incurring injuries.
The amount of play available in human-cat dyads may have an effect on establishing and maintaining social bonds between cats and their humans. Further research into understanding play within human-cat dyads and how it affects inter-species relationships is needed.
... As expected, the emotional closeness level was higher in females, which has already been extensively reported ( Adamelli et al., 2005 ;Lue et al., 2008 ;Ramón et al., 2010 ;Martins et al., 2014 ). Women seem to have a more intense relationship with cats than men ( Mertens, 1991 ;Adamelli et al., 2005 ). In addition, women appear to be more concerned about their cats' physical and behavioral well-being, and usually spend more time interacting with their animals ( Heidenberger, 1997 ;Adamelli et al., 2005 ). ...
... The closer involvement between cats and women could also come from the maternal instinct of the women ( Adamelli et al., 2005 ) or a natu-rally stronger cat preference. It was already suggested that an adult woman is the cat's favorite company ( Mertens, 1991 ). ...
Evidence supports that cats’ behavior influences the level of emotional closeness between the animals and the owners. In some circumstances, a bad relationship can result in neglecting, mistreating, or abandoning the animal. We aimed to assess the level of emotional closeness between the owners and their cats in Brazil, evaluate some specific human-cat interactions based on the cat-owner relationship scale (CORS), and to evaluate the association between the owner's level of emotional closeness and the presence of unacceptable behavior in Brazilian cats. A cross-sectional study design was used to selected Brazilian cat owners through snowball sampling in social networks. Owners answered an online survey adapted from the (CORS) containing additional questions regarding the cat-owner environment and behavior. Five hundred owners answered the survey, and the mean cat-owner level of emotional closeness in our population was 3.94 ± 0.66. Most of the interviewees were female, and the level of emotional closeness was higher in this group than in male owners. As expected, factors such as having other pets, attributing more characteristics to the animal, and frequent visits to the veterinarian were directly associated with a higher level of emotional closeness by the owner. No association was found between the owner's emotional closeness level and the presence of aggression, excessive vocalization, or inappropriate elimination in the cat. Surprisingly, owners of cats that do not scratch the furniture had a lower level of emotional closeness compared to those reporting this inappropriate behavior. In summary, the human-cat emotional bond in our Brazilian cohort was considered medium to high. Our study adds new insights into cat-human emotional bonds and confirms this interaction in Brazil.
... Previous research has reported that guardian gender can affect human-cat interactions. For example, Mertens (1991) noted that adult women tended to be the primary human partner in human-cat relationships, but also that the varying amount of time men vs. women spent in the home was an influential factor. Interactions between humans and cats increased with increasing human duration in the home, and in her study population, adult women spent the most time in the home (and hence, with the cat), adult men the least (Mertens, 1991). ...
... For example, Mertens (1991) noted that adult women tended to be the primary human partner in human-cat relationships, but also that the varying amount of time men vs. women spent in the home was an influential factor. Interactions between humans and cats increased with increasing human duration in the home, and in her study population, adult women spent the most time in the home (and hence, with the cat), adult men the least (Mertens, 1991). Herzog (2007) notes that the effect sizes of gender differences in human-animal relationships vary widely, with considerable withingroup variation, and the differences may be most minor for areas like attachment bonds (vs., for example, attitudes toward animal rights activism). ...
One common form of play between companion cat guardians and cats involves the use of laser light pointers (LLPs). Although viewed by many as an enjoyable shared interaction, experts have suggested that it may increase the risk of compulsive behaviors. Our earlier study recruited participants through social media to examine the relationship between LLPs and potential abnormal repetitive behaviors (pARBs). Because of possible biases in this form of recruitment, this study was conducted utilizing Amazon Mechanical Turk. A total of 468 responses (54.5% female, 44.0% male, 1.5% nonbinary) were analyzed. Significant associations between the frequency of LLPs and the occurrence of spins or tail chases, chasing lights or shadows, staring "obsessively" at lights or reflections, and fixating on a specific toy were found. Additional associations for these pARBs included declaw status, cat age, and number of cats in the household. Despite differences in recruitment method, the primary conclusions of the two studies were the same: guardians frequently using LLPs with their cats reported significantly more pARBs. These results suggest that LLPs may be associated with compulsive behaviors in cats.
... Several studies have highlighted various human characteristics as important determinants of cats' social behaviour during human-cat interactions (HCI). Observational studies taking place in the domestic home [81,82] suggested cats demonstrate preferences for social interactions with adults (particularly females) over children. These differences in cats' responses may be explained by variations in humans' interaction styles, given that children (in particular males) may be more likely to approach resting cats, pick them up, and follow retreating cats than adults, behaviours which are likely to be perceived as threatening by the cat, or to at least induce a degree of discomfort [81,82]. ...
... Observational studies taking place in the domestic home [81,82] suggested cats demonstrate preferences for social interactions with adults (particularly females) over children. These differences in cats' responses may be explained by variations in humans' interaction styles, given that children (in particular males) may be more likely to approach resting cats, pick them up, and follow retreating cats than adults, behaviours which are likely to be perceived as threatening by the cat, or to at least induce a degree of discomfort [81,82]. In contrast, adults (in particular women) may be more likely to vocalise to cats and crouch down to their level, postures and behaviors which may be perceived as a less threatening and more encouraging of the cat to engage in social interactions [82]. ...
Sociality can be broadly defined as the ability and tendency of individuals to reside in social groups with either conspecifics and/or other species. More specifically, sociability relates to the ability and tendency of individuals to display affiliative behaviours in such contexts. The domestic cat is one of the most globally popular companion animals and occupies a diverse range of lifestyles. Despite an arguably short period of domestication from an asocial progenitor, the domestic cat demonstrates an impressive capacity for both intra- and interspecific sociality and sociability. At the same time, however, large populations of domestic cats maintain various degrees of behavioural and reproductive autonomy and are capable of occupying solitary lifestyles away from humans and/or conspecifics. Within social groups, individuals can also vary in their tendency to engage in both affiliative and agonistic interactions, and this interindividual variation is present within free-living populations as well as those managed in confined environments by humans. Considerable scientific enquiry has focused on cats’ social behaviour towards humans (and conspecifics to a much lesser extent) in this latter context. Ontogeny and human selection, in addition to a range of proximate factors including social and environmental parameters and individual cat and human characteristics, have been highlighted as important moderators of cats’ sociability. Such factors may have important consequences regarding individuals’ adaptability to the diverse range of lifestyles that they may occupy. Where limitations to individuals’ social capacities do not enable sufficient e.g. adaption, compromises to their wellbeing may occur. This is most pertinent for cats managed by humans, given that the physical and social parameters of the cats’ environment are primarily dictated by people, but that positive human-selection for traits that enhance cats’ adaptability to such lifestyles appears to be limited. However, limitations in the availability and quality of evidence and equivocal findings may impede the current understanding of the role of certain factors in relation to cat sociability and associations with cat wellbeing, although such literature gaps also present important opportunities for further study. This review aims to summarise what is currently known about the various factors that may influence domestic cats’ sociality and sociability towards both humans and conspecifics, with a predominant focus on cats managed by humans in confined environments. Current limitations, knowledge gaps, and implications for cat wellbeing are also discussed.
... On sait aujourd'hui que les caractéristiques des humains et la façon dont ils interagissent avec leurs compagnons non-humains peuvent influencer le comportement des chats (Mertens 1991), constituant même un facteur déterminant dans la mise en oeuvre du bien-être de ces derniers. Par exemple, il a rapporté que la zone du corps caressée avait une influence sur la réponse comportementale des chats (Ellis et al. 2015b). ...
Dans une société où les animaux compagnons sont intégrés au cercle familial, beaucoup d’humains les considèrent comme des membres de la famille à part entière. La recherche doit suivre cette tendance et s’attacher à appréhender les mécanismes de relations qui se construisent entre différentes espèces amenées à cohabiter. L’objectif de cette thèse est d’enrichir et d’approfondir les connaissances scientifiques sur l’éthologie du chat compagnon (Felis catus), afin de mieux appréhender ses besoins et réponses comportementales, au sein d’un environnement souvent imposé par l’humain. Les travaux restitués sont principalement centrés sur la communication interspécifique entre l’humain et le chat. Soucieux d’explorer aussi bien la perspective de l’humain que celle du chat, nous avons étudié la façon dont chacun s’exprime et décode les messages de l’autre. Ainsi, nous nous sommes intéressés à la communication vocale et visuelle entre ces deux espèces différentes qui partagent un même milieu - et doivent apprendre à communiquer efficacement pour cohabiter sereinement. Nos études ont mis en évidence que les humains utilisaient un discours spécifique pour s’adresser à leur compagnons félins, caractérisé par l’utilisation d’une voix plus aiguë. Nous avons également rapporté que les chats étaient plus attentifs à ce type de discours, mais seulement lorsqu’il était prononcé par leur compagnon humain et non par un étranger. Dans une troisième étude, nous avons observé que les chats venaient plus volontiers au contact d’un humain peu familier si celui-ci proposait un contact bimodal ou visuel, plutôt que vocal. Enfin, nous avons vu que les humains comprenaient mieux les chats dans leurs expressions bimodales et visuelles que vocales. Ainsi, bien que communément utilisée par chaque émetteur de cette communication interspécifique, la modalité vocale ne semble pas être suffisante pour la transmission et la réception d’un signal clair. Ces résultats sont discutés à la lumière des notions d’attachement, d’anthropomorphisme et de bien-être animal.
... Ever since, these animals have been living around our households, providing the vital protein source and economic prosperity for our civilizations, and having multi-purpose interactions with us (Siddiq, 2019). However, despite the growing interest on our relations and interactions with pets, mainly of dogs and cats (e.g., Alba & Haslam, 2015;Anderson & Olson, 2006;Connell et al., 2019;Evans-Wilday et al., 2018;Gosling et al., 2010;Gosse & Barnes, 1994;Kobayashi et al., 2017;Liu et al., 2019;Mertens, 1991;Minke, 2017;Mitchell & Sinkhorn, 2014;Perrine & Osbourne, 1998;Stammbach & Turner, 1999;Taylor et al., 2004), our complex relations and interactions with food animals -in particular, sheep, goat, cow and pig -is still a neglected field in the anthrozoological projects. This study aims to explore human-food animal relationships in traditional pastoral societies. ...
Humans and food animals have been in a mutual relationship for over 10 millennia. For a variety of purposes (e.g., livelihood, food, labor) humans are more dependent on food animals than on pets. Today, there is also empirical evidence for complex emotional, social and cognitive functioning among common food animals such as sheep, pigs, goats, cows and chicken. Yet, most of the anthrozoological projects have been focused on pets so far. Here, we present individual case studies on emotional bonds and the complex relationship between humans and food animals (mainly sheep, goats and cows). Through ethnographic fieldwork in pastoral villages of southeastern Turkey, we demonstrate human–food animal emotional bonds, which are similar to pet–human bonds in urban societies. Shepherds sometimes name certain sheep and goats after their own children. Some shepherds feel considerably depressed and suffer from prolonged–grief after the loss, death or selling of their animals. Many shepherds often dream about their favorite animals, and many become emotional remembering the memories of certain animals with which they had close bonds. Some never slaughter any animals from their own herds, as they cannot endure seeing the pain, suffering, and the blood of the animals they raised with love and care. Some frame and keep the photographs of particular sheep, goats and cows, as if they were photographs of people. Certain sheep, goats or cattle also show deep affections towards their shepherds. Due to their bond with shepherds, they also achieve higher rank, often act as leaders in their herds, share food, and listen to the lullaby, flute or songs of their shepherds. As shepherds raise their herds knowing that these animals will eventually be sold and slaughtered, they often form friendship and bond with some of their animals seeking for true companionship in their hard-working life. This way, the human–food animal relationships in rural southeastern Turkey become complex, conflicting, and dualistic.
... Cat elimination behaviour is a complex process [26,27] that fulfils the role of excreting waste from the body and providing information about species, sex, reproductive status of conspecifics and age for male cats [13,14]. This behaviour is different from marking behaviour where the cat may spray urine, scratch surfaces [28] and rub on objects and individuals [29][30][31] as a form of chemical communication. However, both in elimination behaviour and marking behaviour, compounds are present that seem to influence behaviour. ...
Unwanted toileting is amongst the most undesirable behaviors in domestic cats and can lead to conflicts between cats and the communities they are living in. This study aimed to confirm the effect of a semiochemical composition, reconstituted volatile fraction derived from cat anal glands, on the elimination behavior of domestic cats. A total of 31 cats were tested individually, for 23 h, in a blinded randomized choice test, with two litter trays, one sprayed with the treatment and the other with the control. Parameters included elimination weight, urine only weight, the record of the elimination type and counting of urine spots and stools, exploration duration of each litter tray, and first and second choice of litter tray to eliminate. Across all parameters, cats urinated and defecated significantly less in the litter tray where the semiochemical composition was sprayed than in the litter tray where the control was sprayed (for example: elimination weight p < 0.0001; urine only weight p < 0.0001; exploration duration p < 0.0001, and first elimination choice p < 0.0001). These results demonstrate that a semiochemical composition-derived from cat anal glands significantly decreases elimination at the location where it is sprayed. Future research is warranted to explore the possibility to manage unwanted toileting using this semiochemical composition.
p>Dog-human play was characterised as distinct from dog-dog play. Focal sampling of 402 dog walkers and a survey of 2585 dog owners revealed that dogs housed in multi-dog households played as frequently as did dogs in single-dog households, indicating that interspecific play is unlikely to be a substitute for intraspecific play. An experimental study of Labrador Retrievers showed that, when playing with another dog, dogs were more motivated to complete for possession of an object, but, when playing with a human, interaction was more important.
'Object-oriented play', defined as play involving two individuals responding to each other but centreing around an object , was shown to differ structurally from both social and object play. Two experimental studies of Labrador Retrievers showed that people can increase dogs' interest in a toy via their presence and by a protocol of rewards.
The effects of different game types upon dog-human relationships were examined experimentally. A study of 30 Labrador Retrievers showed that repeated playing of some game types can affect dog-human relationships, but it detected no differences between dogs which won and lost at tug-of-war, contrary to claims in the popular literature. A further study using 14 Golden Retrievers detected an increase in 'Obedient attentiveness' towards an experimenter after play and also an increase in 'Demandingness'. However, whether dogs won or lost at tug-of-war only affected their 'Playful attention seeking' scores; after winning they scored higher than after losing.
When playing with their dogs, dog owners were observed to use a wide variety of play signals of varying effectiveness. Two of these signals, 'Bow' and 'Lunge', were shown experimentally to instigate play between dog and person, and their efficiency was increased when they were accompanied by play vocalisations.</p
The goal of our study was to describe tween a human and a cat and to determine the social behavior during the first encounter beinfluence of the sex of the cat, individuality of the cat, activity state of the person, and person type on the cat's behavior; and the influence of the age and sex of the human partner (person type) on his/her behavior. Nineteen colony cats encountered 240 unfamiliar test persons in a standardized one-cat/one-person situation. In half of the encounters, the behavior of the cat was recorded (A experiments); during a first five-minute phase (Ph 1), the test person was not allowed to interact with the cat; during the second five-minute phase (Ph 2), he/she was allowed to behave without any restrictions. In the other half of the encounters (B experiments), the behavior of the human partner was recorded, and the test person was allowed to behave freely from the start for the duration of five minutes. The influence of the factors listed above was tested by analyses of variance and t-tests. Cats show an enormous individual variation in their behavior. Neither their sex nor the age-sex class of the partner influences their behavior nearly as much as their own individuality. The activity state of the test person (reading a book versus interacting freely) influences the behavior of the cat with respect to most of the parameters observed. Human behavior toward the cat is influenced by the person's age (adults versus children from six to ten years of age) and, to a lesser extent, by the person's sex. The first body contact is a key event and occurs more quickly in the dyadic situation than when the person is looking at a book, since the human partner usually initiates social interactions and motivates the cat to accelerate coming into contact. In addition to the speed and chronology of contact initiation, proximity and behavior regulating the distance between the partners are useful measures for describing human-cat interactions in different social contexts. Single behavioral elements of the cat and the human also may be used as indicators of the character of the relationship.
There has been little quantitative research on the reactivity of non-human species to either an observer or to the presence of humans in general. This study describes the responses of black bears (Ursus americanus) to the presence of humans. Two pairs (male-female) and (female-female) of same-aged captive black bears kept at separate locations were observed in 60-min sessions with their behavior scanned every 30 s. 146 h of systematic observation were completed over a 30-month period.
Data for each session were collapsed into 30 two-min blocks and linear regression analysis was performed on the rates of various behavior patterns. At a relatively remote, undisturbed location rates of many behavior patterns and groupings by activity level were highly correlated with time period within the 60-min session. Behaviors that indicated resting or “relaxed” behavior increased from beginning to end of a session while behaviors requiring more energy decreased. Such large changes in rates of some behaviors apparently involve habituation to the presence of the observer. At the other location there was far more stimulation from sources other than the observer (tourists), and the bears' behavior was less affected by both the observer and other humans. Reactivity has been well-studied with humans, but more systematic studies are needed with all species to develop guidelines for both evaluating and countering reactivity.
Used ratings of friendliness toward and by familiar persons to differentiate adult female cats and their 3–4 mo old offspring at 2 separate cat colonies. Results show that male cats exerted some influence over the behavioral trait of friendliness toward humans among their offspring, without ever coming into social contact with them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Grooming in dyads of six captive female hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas) was analysed. Each dyad was observed in isolation and as part of a group of three to six females. The isolated dyads differed from dyads in groups, as follows. (1) Grooming in isolated dyads mainly depended on the actor's general tendency to groom, whereas actors in groups were more responsive to who the recipient was. (2) In groups, grooming tended to be more frequent among females of high dominance rank and among females who preferred one another in choice tests. The opposites were true for isolated dyads. Females in isolated dyads seemed to use grooming to improve a poor relationship, whereas grooming in groups was used as if to maintain and defend a valuable relationship.
The properties of various functions which have been used for assessing roles of mother and infant in maintaining mutual proximity, and in particular their dependence on absolute activity levels, are examined.
Grooming networks among adult female monkeys exhibit two similar features across a number of different species. High-ranking animals receive more grooming than others, and the majority of grooming occurs between females of adjacent rank. A theoretical model which duplicates these features is presented, and the properties of the model are used to explain the possible causation and function of female grooming behaviour. The model illustrates how relatively simple principles governing the behaviour of individuals may be used to explain more complex aspects of the social structure of non-human primate groups.
Comparative behavioural observations were made in the home setting in order to analyze the ethology of the human-cat relationship. Factors postulated, and indeed, found to influence that relationship included marital status of the human (women living alone, with a partner or with a partner and children), housing conditions of the cat (indoor vs. outdoor access), number of cats kept (one vs. more than one), and to a very minor extent, pedigree of the cat (purebred vs. domestic mixture). Various measures of success at both the interactional, and the relationship level were examined and yielded the following results: 1) The more successful the person is in initiating interactions with the cat, the shorter, the total interaction time with the pet. 2) The higher the proportion of all successful intents to interact that were due to the cat, the more time spent interacting. 3) Willingness to comply with the partner's wishes to interact is positively correlated between the cat and the human over all pairs examined--which helps explain the widespread popularity of cats, as pets.
Field observation and pilot field experiments suggested the hypothesis that a social inhibition prevents male hamadryas baboons from encroaching on each other's females. The hypothesis was tested in a set of enclosure experiments which led to the following results : 1. When two males were simultaneously confronted with an unfamiliar female, one would become her
THE STUDY COMPARED THE BEHAVIOR OF FAMILY MEMBERS AT HOME AS RECORDED BY AUDIOTAPE RECORDINGS IN TWO CONDITIONS: with an observer present or absent. Behavioral differences were expected as a function of differential reactivity to these observational procedures, but none was found, and there was no evidence of adaptation effects in either condition. In general, significant positive correlations were obtained between the rates of recorded behavior in both situations. The implications of these findings for the development of nonreactive observation procedures were discussed.